Self Help Groups

Women in the villages work mostly along with their husbands on the fields, but sadly have no access or control over the income made by their household. We began to mobilise groups of women through short trainings in 2006. Nearly 100 Self Help Groups were formed that primarily saved money every month in a government bank savings account and availed small loans.Women have begun to take a stronger role in community now with their access to money. They have also experienced a change in lifestyle where their place is no more confined within the four walls of their homes and actively participate in the village activities and development.Today there are 2000 Self Help Groups impacting 20,000 women and their families across 200 villages.To ensure that the strength of Self Help Groups continue, we also arrange programmes that enhance team support and ensure a safe platform for expression for women. We conduct games and competitions that bring all Self Help Groups together to participate and strengthen bonding.

Udhyog

With the seasonal nature of agriculture, women wanted to create an alternate livelihood that could augment their income. In the year 2005, several income generation activities were initiated through training along with systems for quality checks and planned logistics. Our women were able to market products such as quilts, Indian savories and snacks through the Udyog programme.We have about 350 women across over 10 villages in Jalgaon and Dhule districts stitching quilts and more than 500 women doing embroidery and stitching miscellaneous products through the year. We also have over 100 women making quality-monitored food products and selling it across nine villages in Jalgaon. Each woman on an average earn an additional Rs 3000 per month that has helped them repay loans, ensure they have food for the family and even educate their children.

Gramin Vyapari Sangathana

The Gramin Vyapari Sangatana is a programme with the women of the Bhuiya community who are known for selling seasonal items such as Dry Coconut, Til, Bananas, so on going door to by mostly carrying them in baskets on their heads.They travel several miles everyday to the city to buy these items and bring it back to the villages to sell. However with access to very little money as individuals, they were not able to tap the full potential of their market. They would buy small quantities from local markets and sell for very less margins. We helped women of this trade to build a co-operative group through which they could buy raw materials in bulk from a lucrative city market, store supplies in a warehouse.

The materials were then distributed among the women. This not only saved their efforts in travelling but also increased their daily income from 50 to 60 rupees to 100 to 120 Rupees.

Milk collection and Dairy loans

We also provide loans for farmers to buy cows or buffaloes and run a milk collection centre. People can bring milk and are paid according to the milk's fat content. This initiative was started mainly to address the problem of many farmers falling into debt with the Dairy Centres. Farmers were availing advance money and loans from the Dairy Centre to buy cows and buffaloes. This led to selling milk to the Dairy Centre at a lesser price than the market rate thus never being able to clear their debts with them.